backyardbbq | Crybadger continued

[Hm. Luca didn't exactly deny the question and that doesn't bode well.]

Some people overlook things like that for their own goood, baby.

That is quite a luxury they have.

[Luca peeks in on the food real quick, then he comes back and takes a seat on the couch.]

Ah, but I suppose I shouldn't be so negative. I promise I am not this much of a drag normally.

[So Luca's actually admitting he's a Negative Nancy. That's half the struggle right there, at least. There's hope for him yet.]

Hah, there's a whole new wooorld for you to explore here, baby. Strikes me as a good reason for you to keep an open mind and appreciate the perks, don't you think?

[Hey, get to know him, and he will open up like a book.]

Aaah, but if I enjoy the future too much, I will miss it when I return to my time.

Missing something just means you had the time of your life while it lasted. Nothin' wrong with that.

No, but I am a person who can be easily swayed, and the last thing I need is the temptation to remain here.

[He knows that feel. It sure would be nice to live a simpler life and hide away from his responsibilities and past mistakes. Things don't work like that, though.]

Ah, yeah, we can't have that. Gotta get you back to your wife and kid, and all thaaat.

[Luca makes an unpleasant face at the mention of his wife. ]

I am sure she would be all too happy to have me 'conveniently disappear' and never come home. She got what she wanted from me already, so there would be no love lost.

[That... is not the sort of reaction Cabanela was expecting, even with how obviously Luca is into men.]

Ah. Well. The missus asiiide, then.

[Luca sighs. He knows Cabanela means well, but. Well. He's a butt sometimes. ]

Yes, of course. My colleagues will be missing me, at the very least

[He debates saying more, but decides not to. Instead, he gets up to go finish dinner.

Which is distinctly some kind of Italian pasta dish, by the way.]

[That's okay. Cabanela's cool with pasta dishes. It's no roast chicken, but it'll do just fine! Especially when it's made expertly with fresh vegetables. He'll report in the kitchen when it's ready and take a deep whiff of that scent.]

Mmmh! That smells deliiicious, baby.

If you think it smells great, just wait. It tastes even better.

[A chef is always confident in their cooking, after all. Plus Luca is cocky.

It is just unfortunate that they don't have a proper dining room, and instead have to settle for a small table in the kitchen. ]

Way to raise the expectations, baby. You'd beeetter deliver.

[Cabanela's used to eating on the couch in front of the TV. A small kitchen table is a step up for him. So's the company, because he's used to having none.

So if the table hadn't been set already, he'll do that himself.]

[Yes that is quite helpful, as Luca is a bit busy with the finishing steps. Soon enough, though, there are two plates full of pasta, sauce, and a mix of zucchini, olives, tomatoes, and little pieces of some kind of sausage. To go with dinner there is wine, of course. Because you always have wine with dinner, as far as Luca is concerned. Unless it is bar food, then that gets beer.]

It's nothing too fancy, but it is good for tonight, since I started cooking late.

[He's acting modest but internally he is like 'yessss enjoy the food and compliment me' because he doesn't get many opportunities to feed his ego.]

["Nothing too fancy", he says. Nothing too fancy. Holy shit. What Cabanela considers 'nothing too fancy' is overcooked pasta with tomato sauce from a can and nothing else. Maybe people just have it way too easy these days.

Either way, he'll just... take a seat and marvel at the food for a moment. He won't even bother to hide how amazed he is.]

Baby, I am sooo glad you're in charge of cookin'. These are the kinda meals a guy could get used to.

[That's probably it, there are a lot fewer options for cooking in Luca's time. Canning does exist, but flavor is greatly lost in the canning process, so fresh is always the way to go. He would have even made fresh noodles if he had the equipment to do so, but he settled for inferior boxed pasta this time.]

My mother is quite the chef herself, so I learned a lot from her.

[Yep he was a mama's boy as a kid. Always following after her, even when he was old enough to be running the streets with other kids.]

You will have to tell me if you enjoy Sevallian cooking. I know some Warassa dishes, but they're...not quite as flavorful.

[Aka fantasy-England has the same shit taste that regular England has.]

[Ahh, that explains it. Mothers always have the best recipes. ...Well, no, that's not quite true. Usually, it's grandmothers who have the best recipes, but if they're passed down through the generations, mothers would have them too.]

I've got no clue what Warassa dishes are, but they say variety is the spice of liiife. Knock yourself out, baby.

[For now, he'll be scooping some of that 'Sevallian' cooking onto his plate. If Luca happens to be used to saying grace or anything like that, it's not gonna be a thing here. Cabanela's got no patience or manners for that.]

[Luca disagrees.

He won't say anything about Cabanela immediately eating though, because different worlds and all. Plus Luca isn't that religious himself.

But he will eat more slowly, taking time to carefully swirl up pasta on his fork before each bite. It is so nice to have a real meal after all that crap food, and Cabanela seems to be enjoying it as well, so Luca will have smile on his face for quite a while.

Now, for dinner talk!]

You know, you never told me if you have anyone waiting for you. Besides your friend you already mentioned, of course.

[That's not dinner talk!!! If Cabanela can help it, that's 'several glasses of wine down the hatch with more incoming' talk. So while he knows exactly what Luca's asking, he's going to dance around the point like the breezy mofo he is. Plus, he'll be trying and failing that fork swirl every so often. It's more difficult than it looks, okay.]

Oh, suuure. Lotsa people. My guys would be lost without me, not to mention some of the gumshoes from the other departments. Eeeveryone looks up to me. Then there's my friend's daughter, little Kamila, and his self-proclaimed apprentice Lynne. I've got so many babies under my wiiing, I lose count. [Love life? What love life?]

[Pshhhh, a non-answer is still an answer. Luca can tell from a lack of love life mentioned that either Cabanela doesn't have one or that he does have one and it is turbulent and not something to talk about. Which is fine with him, it doesn't really change Luca's opinion of Cabanela much, though he does chuckle at the mental image of Cabanela mother henning over so many people.]

Aah, you must be the mother hen then, tending to all of your chicks.

[A non-answer is still better than outright saying "no". Occasional sex life is a thing, but that's not the same as having someone waiting for him.]

Hahaha, well, sooomeone has to do it. Can't leave those chicks to fend for themselves, can I?

Mmm, I suppose not, no.

[See, moments like this are nice, when there's no stupid games or life-or-death matters to worry about. Luca finds himself forgetting about his previous anger towards Cabanela and remembering that he had been, at least physically, attracted to him. It's funny, how a roof over your head and food in your belly can make someone's attitude change like that.]

So I have to know: got any good stories of ridiculous things your 'chicks' have gotten involved in?

[He is expecting something benign, like 'one time two of my officers got locked out of their car after arresting someone' or something.]

Too many, baby. Faaar too many. The life of a mother hen is never dull.

[Not to mention, some of his subordinates are incredibly quirky. Not as quirky as him, but quirky all the same. As for Lynne, she's just... special.

In fact, he's got so many stories that he's having trouble choosing, so he'll just focus on his food instead. The one thing he dislikes about spaghetti is how tricky it is to eat this stuff gracefully.]

[ as long as he doesn't get sauce on his white coat, he'll be okay. All the more reason to take it slow, though, to avoid messes. Which is what Luca is doing.]

Mmm, at the University it used to be dull, but some new adjuncts arrived and made things...louder.

[He would sooner die than get sauce on his coat. In fact, it's the need to avoid spilling sauce that's making it tricky. He's taking it as slowly as possible but he's also very hungry and that serves to make him impatient about it.]

Is that sooo? That sounds exciting. [And a little mysterious, because he noticed that pause before the "louder".]

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